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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution honors Pastor France A. Davis.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This resolution:
13 ▸ recognizes the 46-year career of Pastor France A. Davis at Calvary Baptist Church;
14 and
15 ▸ honors Pastor Davis's work as a pastor, teacher, and activist.
16 Special Clauses:
17 None
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19 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
20 WHEREAS, Pastor France A. Davis was born in 1946 in Georgia;
21 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis participated in the civil rights campaigns of Dr. Martin
22 Luther King Jr.;
23 WHEREAS, after participating in the March on Washington in 1963 and the
24 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march in 1965, he decided to devote his life's work to
25 ministry;
26 WHEREAS, in 1966 Pastor Davis joined the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic where
27 he served, among other places, 18 months at Korat Air Force Base in Thailand, before
28 receiving an honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant in 1970;
29 WHEREAS, in 1971, Pastor Davis became an ordained minister;
30 WHEREAS, in 1972, Pastor Davis arrived in Salt Lake City and became an instructor
31 in communications and ethnic studies at the University of Utah;
32 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis joined Calvary Baptist Church in 1972, became interim
33 Pastor in 1973, and was appointed as the full time Pastor in 1974;
34 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis has led his congregation to emphasize the importance of
35 education and supported education by granting thousands of dollars to local students for tuition
36 and necessities;
37 WHEREAS, four scholarships have been established in honor of Pastor Davis's
38 commitment to education;
39 WHEREAS, in 2007, Pastor Davis was appointed to the Salt Lake Community College
40 Board of Trustees;
41 WHEREAS, in 2008 he was appointed as the first African American member to the
42 Utah Board of Regents;
43 WHEREAS, in 2009-2014 he was appointed the fifth vice president of the National
44 Baptist Congress of Christian Education;
45 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis served on the Utah Board of Corrections, where he worked
46 to reduce racial profiling by the law enforcement agencies during his service of a decade;
47 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis has received numerous awards, including:
48 • an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the University of
49 Utah (1993);
50 • the Westminster College "Distinguished Alumni Award" (1997);
51 • the "Distinguished Teacher Award" from the Sigma Chi Fraternity, Beta
52 Epsilon Chapter (2011);
53 • the Days of '47 "Pioneer of Progress Award" in Education, Health, and
54 Humanitarian Assistance (2011);
55 • the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award (2013);
56 • the Utah Valley University "Excellence in Ethics Award" (2014); and
57 • the "Lifetime Achievement Heroes Recognition" from the American Red
58 Cross (2016);
59 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis retired from Calvary Baptist Church in 2019 after 46 years of
60 service; and
61 WHEREAS, Pastor Davis's lifelong commitment to ministry, ethics, education, and
62 civil rights activism merits recognition:
63 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
64 Governor concurring therein, honor the 46-year career and service of Pastor France A. Davis.
65 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature send a copy of this resolution to
66 Pastor France A. Davis.